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Joyce Cansfield
Joyce Cansfield, a housewife from Otley, was the first ever series champion of Countdown, defeating Michael Wylie 59 – 41 in the grand final of Series 1, broadcast on 16 December 1982. She later returned for Championship of Champions I, losing to Mark Nyman in the final. Joyce also appeared on the special episode to celebrate Countdown's 500th show on 2 February 1987, and competed in the Countdown Masters in 1989.
In 1996 Joyce returned for the Supreme Championship. She entered the event at the group semi-final level, having received a bye. Her first game was against Steve Balment, and although Steve solved the conundrum NAMIBIAPH Joyce emerged the winner. She next played Jackie McLeod in a closer game, in which she looked in danger of a crucial conundrum but avoided it when Jackie missed a tricky 901 target. However, Joyce succumbed to boy wonder Allan Saldanha in the series quarter-final when he achieved a perfect score.
Between 2002 and 2003, she filmed a 15-round game against Series 2 finalist Dixie Baird, but this is yet to be broadcast. In 2008, 26 years after she first appeared on the show, Joyce returned again to the Countdown scene for the CoNot event, organized by a fellow series winner.
She first appeared on the Calendar Countdown pilot episode in 1981, but this was never broadcast.
Joyce Cansfield won the the UK National Scrabble Championship in 1980 and is the first of only two people (the other being Craig Beevers) to have been both UK Scrabble champion and Countdown series champion. She is also a long-standing setter of Times crossword puzzles.
Series winner Series 1 |
Followed by Ash Haji |
Champion of Champions runner-up Championship of Champions I |
Followed by Peter Evans |
Episodes
Championship of Champions Runners-Up | |
---|---|
I : Joyce Cansfield | II : Peter Evans | III : David Trace | IV : Tony Vick | V : Gino Corr | VI : Chris Waddington | VII : Damian Eadie | VIII : Kenneth Michie | IX : Pete Cashmore | X : Kate Ogilvie | XI : Chris Wills | XII : Mark Tournoff | XIII : Charlie Reams | XIV : Dan McColm | XV : Bradley Horrocks | XVI : James Haughton |